Preston said fans could collect their refund from the club ticket office from tomorrow onwards.

The statement added: “Those supporters who paid on the day must provide their match ticket in order to receive a refund. For all refunds, the repayment will be made to the person who paid for the ticket.

“The players today also issued a public apology to the management, their teammates and the supporters for their actions.”

“I’ve been in the game for 30 years playing and managing and I’ve never been involved with anything like that,” he said.

“It has been made very clear to the players and the squad as a whole that this behaviour is not acceptable by any employee of Preston North End and a swift and strong response was important, however, it has now been dealt with and the matter is closed.”